Mason Wasp

Large Black and white wasp Can you identify this wasp for me, and tell me a little about it. Wasps are a hobby of mine, but I have never seen this one in any book. They are very common at Brazos Bend State Park in Texas, where I am a volunteer, and are frequently seen going in and out of holes in wood, or walking on open soil or sand. Thanks very much.. H. Glen Kilgore

Hi H. Glen, Your photo is blurry, but it sure looks to us like a Mason Wasp, Monobia quadridens. According to BugGuide, the Mason Wasp: “Usually nests in wood borings, but sometimes burrows in dirt banks. Sometimes takes over abandoned nests of carpenter bees or ground bees, also Sceliphron (mud dauber) cells. Nest is provisioned with caterpillars, and cells of nest are separated by mud partitions.”